GUIDELINES FOR LuBBs USAGE -------------------------- You are requested to observe the following points when: A) Entering messages into conferences. i) Place reasoning for any assertions you make. e.g. Instead of saying 'Bros are brilliant' you should say why.. e.g. 'Bros are brilliant because the drummer plays really well' ii) Do not make statements which could be seen as potentially offensive (racist, sexist, etc). Obviously, at times, such statements may well be necessary for a point to be made. If such a statement is required then please try to phrase things as in-offensively as possible and include sufficient reasoning to support what you have stated. iii) Messages along the lines of "X rules" will be limboed, you are therefore requested not to enter such messages. Continual posting of these types of message may result in you being given warnings and restrictions on Lubbs access applied iv) When directly quoting a source, and the quote contains strong language (i.e. is not permitted on LuBBs), then please remove the strong language. In certain instances the language may be relevant to the quote, and cannot be removed without changing the overall context of the quote. In such instances, you -MUST- asterisk ( '*' ) out as much of the offending text as possible. The only exclusion from this rule will be the POETRY conference. This is not to say that a poem can contain a lot of harsh language. Provided that the language is kept to a minimum and that the language is only in the occasionally poem, then the poems themselves will not be Limbo'd. Of course, personal attacks etc, are NOT permitted. Also, just because the langauge is used inside the quote, does not mean that you can use the same language outside of the quote. v) When replying to a PRIVATE message into another conference (eg to TALK) please obtain the permission of the other user as they may have said things that they do not wish others to know. This applies to pages too. vi) Please remove as much of the previous message(s) as possible. For long paragraphs, simply leave in the first and last lines and replace the centre section of text with '[etc]' or '......' to show that text has been removed. It is annoying, especially to those users who login in from home to read through pages of previous message(s) just to find a one-liner at the end. vii) Please ensure the following:- i.e. The message is directed at the correct person? The subject field is correct? The message is in the correct conference? Is it the right category (where applicable)? viii) Please try to make your reply easy to read. For example leaving a line between your reply and the previous message, breaking up your reply (if sufficiently long) etc, help in making the text easier to read. The easier a message is to read - the more likely it is for the reader to finish reading it. ix) Messages in the more serious conference should allow different groups of users to join in the discussion and put forward their views. By keeping the 'attractiveness' of the thread to within a small group, the messages themselves often become more boring and more offensive to those that have opposing interest in the subject being discussed. This is mainly caused by there being no 'appropriate' entry point for them to enter their opinion. If an opposing message is then entered, it usually comes across as being an insult, and things can start to get out of hand. x) Messages should be relevant to the conference they are being entered in. Irrelevant threads are subject to be discontinued, and irrelevant messages limboed. Posting messages which clearly belong in another conference, and the said message has been deliberately posted in that conference because the author has reached his posting limit, may result in restrictions being placed on the offenders account. If there should be several complaints about certain threads, then the discussion of such topics may be dis-allowed. xi) When a message you have entered is no longer relevant (eg in For-Sale-And-Wanted after an item has been sold), please kill off the message as this will prevent further users from contacting you, and can help remove old messages from the conference. xii) Messages entered in order to bait other users into replying with, for example, a message which runs along the lines of a personal attack, will be limbo'd and the person who set the 'bait' may face restrictions on his/her account. Some examples of such baitings would be messages like: ' is for Geeks, Nerds, and brain dead people, all of which should be taken away and shot.' If you feel so strongly against such things and have no interest in such conferences, then unsubscribe from them, and let the subscribers enjoy their conference. After all - not everyone likes the same sort of thing. xiii) No ASCII Art, please. The only conference this will be permitted in is the VALENTINES conference. We do have a quota on disk space. xiv) Please, no cut and pasting large volumes of text, especially from TALK channels, into the conferences. Disk space is the issue here. xv) Please do not repeat messages across multiple conferences - this serves only to annoy other users, and gives the admin team even more work than they already have. B) Paging other users. i) Do not be an annoyance to the user you are paging. If the page were likened to a telephone call (irrespective of the initiator), then anything which could be classes as a nuisance phone call, would be classed as annoyance. ii) Observe the points for posting messages. C) Using Talk Channels. i) Observe the points for posting messages and paging other users. i.e No swearing, no cut and pasting, no ascii art etc. ii) Do not password a channel if there is only going to be yourself on that channel, as this may prevent other users from having a private conversation. If you do this you may be requested to remove the password from the channel or even be logged out from the system. If you just wish to sit and 'wait for pages' etc, then please use channel 1 for such purposes. D) Choosing a LuBBs Name. i) Names should be of 3 or more characters in length (upto the maximum of 20 characters.). The first character of the name should also be a letter. ii) Names must be in-offensive and must not refer to individuals within the university. Names, which consist of non-harsh language used instead of harsh words, such that the 'innocent' phrase becomes harsh or offensive are similarly disallowed. For example :- R SOUL, JUAN KERR etc. Names of major religious figures (e.g. 'Jesus' , 'Allah') should also be avoided as some users may find the use of these offensive. iii) Names must be such that they do not cause confusion with other users, or persons in the University. iv) Names should not be similar to existing users Lubbs names as confusion may occur. If you choose a name which is not suitable for lubbs, then you will be informed by the SysOp, and requested to change it. Usually, you will be suspended temporarily from using LuBBs (typically about 3 days). Should a name be clearly and deliberately offensive then you may be banned from using LuBBs altogether.